Shower bath system applicable both in bathrooms and outdoors,with basin provided with seats for protective,rigid and watertight walls



BOTH IN B VIDE 3,462,771 ooms AND FOR ATHR D WITH SEATS EIRTIGHT E EL 0 RM R 0 I N m P AT. GA B R M H a W T B S I V Y W H am m R T A w m B D P SHOWER ou'r Filed Nov. 5, 1966 v D AND WAT WALLS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 tmmcmfil '1 l I Al I! i f :4 ,1 :1

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SHOWER BATH SYSTEM APPLICABLE BOTH IN BATHROOMS AND OUTDOORS WITH BASIN PROVIDED WITH SEATS FOR PROTECTIVE, RIGID AND WATER'IIGHT WALLS Filed Nov. 5, 1966 v 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR G/ USEPPE M0?! 7 7/ BY United States Patent Ofiice 3,46Z,771 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 3,462,771 SHOWER BATH SYSTEM APPLICABLE BOTH IN BATHROOMS AND OUTDOORS, WITH BASIN PROVIDED WITH SEATS FOR PROTECTIVE, RIGID AND WATERTIGHT WALLS Giuseppe Moretti, Via Stromboli 9, Milan, Italy Filed Nov. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 591,795 Claims priority, application Italy, May 21, 1966, 11,649/ 66 Int. Cl. A47k 3/23 US. Cl. 4-146 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Portable shower bath system which may be installed either indoors or outdoors and that comprises a shower bath basin, in a single piece of sheet material, having a wide peripheral edge with an upwardly open groove running all along the edge and having a hole as overflow outlet for the basin, said groove constituting a seat for rigid, watertight protective walls, one of said walls being a hinged access door, one of the fixed walls carrying the shower bath sprinklers, the mixing valve and the cocks controlling the water supply to the sprinklers.

It is known that conventional shower baths, installed in bathrooms or in other suitable rooms, include a bottom basin, sprinklers or spraying nozzles, either fixed or adjustable in direction, controlled by cocks, mixing valves and the like, and usually a watertight curtain surrounding the basin, in order to prevent water from splashing on the floor, or other parts of the room where the shower bath is installed.

However, the protection afforded by such watertight curtains is frequently inadequate, so that the spreading of water on the floor around the shower bath basin is almost inevitable with the systems so far in use.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a shower system applicable both in bathrooms and outdoors, and the basin of which, especially conceived, is provided with edges having seats for protective walls preventing any water splashing so as to avoid absolutely water flowing out of the basin and out of the space limited by the walls mounted on the basin itself.

More exactly, it is an object of the present invention to provide: the basin having the features mentioned above, to be more particularly explained in the following, as well as all of the rest of the shower bath installation including, in combination with said basin, the system of walls, the access door, and the water jet distribution system of the shower bath itself.

The shower bath basin of the present invention, is characterized by being of a single piece, with a bottom wall slightly converging towards the point where the water outlet is provided. On the upper outer basin border there is provided a flat peripheral edge, along which runs a groove adapted to constitute a seat for the rigid walls and other cabin elements, as well as a hole provided in a suitable place at the bottom of said groove, and adapted to constitute an outlet for draining the water that might collect in the groove, or might tend to overflow from the basin.

The shower bath cabin, which may be combined with the basin as described above, is characterized by the combination, with said basin, of watertight, rigid walls that can be fitted in the groove provided on each lateral edge of said basin, with the sprinkler or shower nozzles, as well as the valves and cocks controlling the water supply to the shower bath itself, being mounted on one of these walls, preferably the one adjacent to the masonry wall, while another cabin wall includes a door hinged on the edge of the basin itself, and said cabin walls being interconnected at their tops with an interconnecting 1firlilme constituted by suitable structural shapes or the The accompanying drawings illustrate schematically and as an example, a form of practical embodiment of the invention, and namely:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the basin forming the main part of the shower bath system of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section, taken along the line A-B of FIG. 1, of the shallow basin for a shower bath according to the invention, and wherein are shown the walls and the top frame of the cabin that can be combined with the basin in question, for the shower bath system according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section, on a reduced scale relative to the preceding figures, of a cabin according to the invention, wherein one can particularly see the rear wall with the sprinklers and the related valves.

FIG. 4 is a very schematic plan view of the shower bath cabin illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings show the structure of the basin for a shower bath system according to the invention. In said figures in fact one can clearly see the basin 1, the bottom of which is slightly inclined and convergent towards the center, where there is provided an opening 5 for the drain, while all around its periphery said basin has a flat edge 2, provided with a groove 3, recessed downwards, on each of its sides, which grooves are interconnected so that any water collecting therein may easily reach the hole 4, provided at the bottom of a portion of said grooves, and serving as an overflow drain.

The grooves 3 are deep enough to constitute a seat for the walls of a shower bath cabin according to the invention, said walls being made of plate glass, as shown at 10 in FIG. 2. Said walls will be retained in the desired position, and interconnected at their tops by a metallic frame 11 or the like, made of a suitable structural shape.

In FIG. 1, the reference character 7 indicates the drain pipe of the overflow 4, while 8 refers to the drain conduit leading from the central hole 5 and 9 is the connection of the drain-pipes 7 and 8, united into a single pipe with a main drain of the installation.

Preferably the bottom of the basin 1 will not have a smooth surface, but a surface provided with suitable projections, to prevent anybody taking a shower from slipping on a too glossy surface, especially when that surface is wetted with water and soap; the arrangement of such projections as those shown at 6 in FIG. 1 also makes it unnecessary to use a rubber carpet or wooden strip grates as are frequently used in shower baths, and which however present the inconveniences known to everybody.

FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a shower bath cabin according to the invention, with walls that are made of plate glass. One of such walls, as at 12, preferably the one adjacent to the masonry wall, when the cabin is installed in a bathroom and is placed against the masonry, carries thereon one or more shower bath sprinklers; in the example as shown, it is supposed that these sprinklers are five in number, namely the top sprinkler 13, two middle height sprinklers, shown at 14 and 14', and two other bottom sprinklers, shown at 15 and 15. All of these sprinklers will be preferably adjustable in direction as wanted, and in the center there can be seen the control valve unit supplying warm and cold water to all of these sprinklers. More exactly, the cock 16 controls the water fed to the top sprinkler 13, the cock 17 controls the sprinklers 14 and 14', and cock 18, the lower sprinklers 15 and 15'. At 19 is shown the mixing valve controlling the temperature of the water flowing from the individual sprinklers, which allows in its different settings, the feeding of mixtures of warm and cold water, according to the temperature wanted for the water flowing from the sprinklers.

In a cabin such as that illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, since the walls are formed of rigid plate glass, or of other suitable material, it is necessary to provide a door to allow persons to enter and leave the cabin itself.

In the shower bath of the invention said door is constituted preferably by an entire wall of the cabin, as schematically shown in said figures. One can in fact see therein how one of the glass plates, namely the one constituting the wall opposite the back wall 12, is made from a glass plate 20, rotatable about hinges 21, the lower one of which is anchored in the groove 3 of the basin 1 edge, corresponding to this wall, while at its top a similar hinge will be fixed to the top frame interconnecting the walls themselves. Looking at FIGS. 3 and 4, one can easily understand how, with such an arrangement, the walls can be made in a particularly simple way and at the same time perfectly esthetic, inasmuch as when the door 20 is closed, nothing makes it different from the other walls 10, made from the same plate glass, while packings 22 may constitue dampers and watertight joints for the vertical sides of the door 20 itself. In a closed position, the door 20 will thus be exactly superposed to the corresponding groove 3 of the basin 1, and this will thus afford the advantage that any water splashed onto the door will drip into said groove.

The same advantage attends also the stationary walls 10, especially when constituted by plate glass. At any rate, whatever be the material constituting said walls, there will be in a shower bath and related cabin made according to the present invention, the advantages deriving from the elimination of any splashing of water outside the cabin.

Other advantages are the great simplicity of installation and manufacture of the cabin, which lends itself also to outdoor installation, of course with walls of opaque plate glass or of suitable opaque materials. When the same is installed in a bathroom, with suitable elements, and decorated to match the other equipment and accessories of the bathroom, it will enhance the appearances of the room.

It is apparent that a shower bath cabin according to the present invention could advantageously be arranged in a corner, either a right or a left corner, in which case one of the cabin side walls can be eliminated,

Another advantage of the shower bath according to the invention is that it will be possible to assemble and disassemble the same easily and quickly, and therefore it can also be moved from one apartment to another, requiring for its installation but one drain pipe and two supply pipes, respectively for the warm water and the cold Water.

Of course, the materials constituting both the basin and the cabin parts, the sizes of these last, the type of sprinkler valves adopted, and all the constructive details may vary to suit the needs without thereby departing from the field of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A shower bath comprising a lower basin formed in a single piece and having in its bottom an outlet therefrom for water and its bottom inclined toward said outlet, said basin having a wide upstanding generally fiat peripheral edge with an upwardly open groove extending about the edge and having an outlet for water at the bottom of said groove, a plurality of upright rigid walls that are interconnected with each other in watertight fashion and whose lower edges rest by gravity in said groove, one of said walls being a hinged access door, and water-supply means and controls for said watersupply means on another of said walls.

2. A shower bath as claimed in claim 1, said lower edges of said walls being disposed freely in unsecured fashion and with clearance in said groove so that water in said groove will flow to said outlet in the bottom of said groove.

3. A shower bath as claimed in claim 1, said basin being formed of sheet material.

4. A shower bath as claimed in claim 1, and a rigid framework interconnecting the upper edges of said walls, and hinges on which said door is mounted, there being a said hinge interconnecting the upper edge of said door and said rigid framework and another said hinge interconnecting the lower edge of said door and said basin, said hinges being disposed intermediate the length of said upper and lower edges of said door.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,017,167 2/1912 Pleins 4--145 1,664,491 4/1928 Siegel 4146 2,085,559 6/1937 Weber 4-149 2,292,368, 8/1942 Gordon 4146 2,313,421 3/1943 Dalton 4149 2,336,402 12/1943 Kaiser 4-152 2,702,390 2/1955 Dillon 4146 2,757,385 8/1956 Whittick 4-146 3,010,116 11/1961 Cowley 4151 FOREIGN PATENTS 524,464 12/1953 Belgium.

593,048 10/ 1947 Great Britain.

775,001 5/1957 Great Britain.

888,314 8/1953 Germany.

455,283 2/1950 Italy.

645,029 9/ 1962 Italy.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner D. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner 

